On June 25, USAID Administrator Samantha Power attended the Wall Street Journal's Global Food Forum in Chicago, Illinois. In a fireside chat with the WSJ news editor Kathryn Dill, Administrator Power highlighted opportunities for U.S. agriculture growers who can't address their labor needs with domestic workers to fill critical labor gaps while promoting ethical recruitment through H-2A visas from northern Central America. In those countries, USAID helps Ministries of Labor build significant talent pipelines by improving vetting and matching of qualified workers with job opportunities at U.S. farms. This creates a safe alternative to irregular immigration, advances U.S. food security, and empowers those workers to return home and reinvest in local economies with greater skills and higher wages.
Administrator Power also discussed during her fireside chat the breadth of USAID's programming, from providing humanitarian aid to Gaza, to working with the private sector to advance food security and global stability, especially in Ukraine's agricultural sector.
On the sidelines of the Forum, the Administrator met with Farmland Partners President and CEO Luca Fabbri, Sunview Marketing International Vice President of Sales Mitch Wetzel, and Lundberg Family Farms Vice President of Agriculture Bryce Lundberg to discuss the supply chain dynamics facing organizations in the agricultural value chain, and to explore opportunities to partner with the private sector to overcome those challenges while also improving lives and livelihoods in northern Central America.
